In 1990, Van White returned to Rochester, NY,
where he attended Helen Barrett Montgomery, School No. 50 and Abraham Lincoln,
School No. 22 as a child, to work as a Monroe County Assistant District
Attorney. In 1994, White left the District Attorney's Office to serve as Mayor
William A. Johnson's Special Counsel on Crime and Violence Initiatives. In his
role as the City's “Crime Czar,” White did everything from close down drug
houses to start original youth violence prevention and intervention programming
like Late Night Basketball, Teen Court and Pathways to Peace. Long after White left City Hall, these
groundbreaking programs continue to positively impact area schoolchildren.

After leaving City Hall, White opened up his
own private law firm where he began specializing in cases involving school
safety issues -- the most significant of which was Givens v. RCSD. That case
(involving the only student killed on City School District property) redefined
the legal responsibilities of school districts when it comes to school safety.

In 2006, believing that he could have a
greater impact on improving school safety by working from “within the system”, White
ran a successful campaign for a vacant seat on the City of Rochester School
Board. Since being sworn in January 2007, he has been an outspoken advocate for
improving school safety, raising graduation rates, decreasing truancy rates,
and attacking the problem of lead poisoning -- which is proven to have a
detrimental and devastating effect on the academic performance of urban
children.

Having served as Board Vice President for two
non-consecutive terms in 2008 and 2013, White was elected as Board President in
2014.

White
is the father of two District graduates who have both gone on to college.